


Tones Of Home

by WandaRavenBlack



Series: Bad Things Happen - Dick Grayson [12]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Abandonment, Bruce Wayne Tries, Crying, Darkness, Haly's Circus, Running Away, Sad Dick Grayson, Wayne Manor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 23:00:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21126671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WandaRavenBlack/pseuds/WandaRavenBlack
Summary: HOMESICKNESSDick feels like he doesn't fit in at the Manor so, one night, he runs away. He tries to find his way back to Haly's when he is found by Batman.





	Tones Of Home

Dick sighed. He was alone. Again. Every since he had moved into the mansion, a week earlier, he had been alone. Alfred seemed to not really know how to deal with him. Bruce was never around. With sudden determination, he stood up from the bed and pulled on the hoodie he still had from Haly’s circus. Moving as quietly as he could, he sneaked through the mansion and slunk out into the front yard. Well there, he glanced up to the windows on that side of the house. They were all black. He shook his head. Of course they were black. He pulled the hood on and started running. He still remembered the way to the mansion from where the juvenile detention was. And from there, he knew the way to the circus. He had memorized it during the drive there, thinking that he would be able to escape and run back home. He ran as fast as he could. He just wanted to get back home. Back to uncle Haly and Zitka. To clown Jimmy. He was nearing the place where the circus had been and stopped in shock when he saw that there was nothing there anymore. No lights, no nightly rounds to check on the animals, no late rehearsals, no tents. Nothing. They had left. Haly had left without him. He felt tears fall down his cheeks and fell down to his knees. They left him. His family had left him. He didn’t know how long he had been kneeling there on the ground, when he suddenly heard steps coming towards him. He looked up and his eyes widened when he saw the black figure. He knew about him. Everyone in the circus had talked about him. Batman. The hero of Gotham. The Dark Knight. The man walked closer to him and got down on one knee. 

“Are you alright?” 

His voice was almost a growl, distorted by some device, but that didn’t scare the boy. 

“They left me.” 

The Bat tilted his head.

“Who did? The circus? You were part of it?” 

Dick nodded. 

“Yeah. I was a Flying Grayson. My name is Dick.” 

The Bat nodded. 

“I heard about what happened to your parents. I’m sorry.” 

Dick sat back and pulled his knees close to his chest. 

“I heard that Bruce Wayne adopted you.” 

The boy shrugged. 

“Yeah. I guess he did.” 

“You don’t seem happy about that.” 

Another shrug. 

“He’s never around.” 

The Bat seemed to want to say something, but then they heard footsteps approaching. The man stood up and stretched his hand out to Dick. 

“Come with me.” 

The boy frowned, but then grabbed the hand and held onto the man as he grappled them both onto the roof. He sat the boy down on the ledge and then sat down next to him. 

“So, he’s never around, you said.” 

Dick nodded. 

“He doesn’t seem to care that I’m there. He’s never around. I’ve woken up from nightmares so many times and I don’t know how to act, because I don’t know how he will react. I don’t know if he will get angry if I were to wake him up.” 

“Maybe he doesn’t know how to react.” 

Dick looked up at him. 

“Bruce Wayne lost his parents when he was very young. His butler is the one who raised him. From what I’ve noticed, Wayne doesn’t actually get close to people. Maybe he wants to help you, but doesn’t know how.” 

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the boy thinking it through. When he spoke up again, his voice was careful.

“I didn’t think about it like that. I… I just don’t feel at home in the mansion.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because it’s so dark and sad. Back in the circus, the outside lights were always on. And uncle Haly always made sure that a few tents in the back yard were lit up, in case someone couldn’t sleep. And there was always someone who had trouble sleeping so they would go out and practice. Whether it was Jimmy clowning around or Haly practicing his speeches. Wilhelm would go up several times a night to check on Gunther and Gurbel, the tigers. Sometimes, Samson would snore so loudly that he would wake up half the circus. Samson is the strongman.” 

He had managed to relax while talking about his home. About his real home. Batman, noticing that the boy was still shaking slightly, realized that he must be freezing. He moved a bit closer to him and put the cape around his shoulders. Dick looked up at him with a small smile, before snuggling into his side and pulling the cape closer around himself. For a moment, it seemed as if the Bat didn’t know what to do. Then he put an arm around the boy. 

“So it’s the darkness in the mansion you have trouble with?” 

“Not only. It’s the silence too. And never seeing anyone. Alfred is almost busy and Bruce is never there. It’s just a sad house. That’s why I want to go back to the circus. I just want to go back home.” 

The Bat took a deep breath. 

“You don’t want to stay with Bruce? Maybe get to know him a bit?” 

Dick shrugged. 

“He doesn’t want to get to know me.” 

“How do you know that?” 

“Because he’s never around. He has barely spoken to me since I moved in.” 

“And if he was to change?” 

The boy thought about that. Bruce had seemed very nice when they had met for the first time. He seemed interested in Dick and wanting to help him. He had asked questions about his life. 

“I think I would like to get to know him. But what if this doesn’t work out? If he doesn’t want me? Can I…” 

He hesitated. 

“Can I stay with you then?” 

The Bat shifted a bit. 

“No. I live in the shadows, Dick. You need light to live. It would never work. But, I can make you a deal. If you give Bruce a chance, and it doesn’t work out, I’ll find out where Haly went to and take you there. What do you say?” 

Dick frowned. 

“You’d take me back to Haly?” 

A nod. 

“Yes. But let’s get you back to the mansion for now, alright?” 

The boy thought about it for a moment, before nodding. The Bat stood up, picked up the boy and carried him down to the Batmobile. He put him in the passenger seat and watched with amusement the fascination in Dick’s eyes. He parked outside the mansion and stepped out. When he noticed that Dick was hesitating, he walked over to his side and lifted the boy out. Dick quickly hugged him and let the man carry him to the front door. The Bat rang the doorbell. Shortly after, Alfred opened the door, his eyes widening when he saw Dick being carried by Batman. Before he could say anything, the Bat spoke up. 

“I found this one on the streets. Thought I would take him home.” 

Alfred nodded, quickly shaking off his shock. 

“Thank you, Batman.” 

The boy was put on the ground and he smiled up at the Bat, before running inside the house, heading upstairs. He quickly took off his hoodie and jumped onto the bed, pulling the covers over himself. He would give it a try. Give Bruce a try. He fell to sleep thinking about bats and flying over Gotham. When he woke up the next morning, he noticed immediately that there were changes done in the house. For one, all the curtains were drawn back, letting in as much sunlight as possible. When he made his way down to the kitchen, Bruce was there. The boy looked at him with surprise and hesitated, but then walked over to his chair and sat down, Alfred putting a plate of scrambled eggs and two toasts in front of him. 

“So, Dick. I was wondering if you would like to help me out with a few things today.” 

Dick looked up at Bruce with his eyes wide open. Was this really happening? And then he got a terrible thought. 

“Did Batman bully you into being nice to me?” 

The man actually started laughing. 

“No. No, he didn’t. I just realized that I’m not around as much as I should be. And I want you to feel good here. To feel safe. If you ever need me, just come to me. Even if it’s in the middle of the night. I’m a light sleeper so it shouldn’t take much to wake me up.” 

Then, a grin appeared on his face and he added: 

“And hopefully I don’t snore like Samson.” 

Dick looked at him with a frown. How did he know about that? Except for the circus people, no one knew about that. No one except for… Dick’s eyes widened and he actually fell off his chair in surprise. 


End file.
